Groupe Lucien Barrière
Groupe Lucien Barrière is the casino market leader in France and in Switzerland as well as a major player on the European market. The Group is also a benchmark in the French luxury hotel industry and is highly reputed in the catering and leisure industries. History François André, founder *'1912-1951': re-inventing the Deauville and La Baule seaside resorts As a young man from Ardèche who came up to Paris in the early 20th century, François André started a casino business by acquiring the Ostend casino in Belgium, while Eugène Cornuché, his partner, began building the Hôtel Normandy and having the Deauville casino rebuilt in 1912. In 1918, François André set up the Haussmann gaming circle in Paris and continued to grow his business by designing the La Baule resort based on the Deauville model and by purchasing the Hôtel Royal and casino in 1923. He invented the modern day resort concept by combining casinos, luxury hotels and sports facilities all on one site. In 1926, François André took on the construction of the Hôtel Hermitage at La Baule. 1927, he took over from Eugène Cornuché as managing director of SHCD (Société des Hôtels et Casino de Deauville). He then had the Hôtel du Golf in Deauville built. Lucien Barrière *'1951-1987' - Groupe Lucien Barrière’s founding and development throughout France In 1951, Lucien Barrière, François André’s nephew, joined the Group. In 1957 Lucien Barrière was appointed to the Board of several of the Group’s entities and became his uncle’s sole legal heir in 1961. He undertook a project to modernise and develop the Group by buying new establishments in Trouville, Dinard, St-Malo, Royan and Enghien-les-Bains. In 1980, SHCLB (Société Hôtelière de la Chaîne Lucien Barrière) was founded to cover the La Baule hotels and casinos. In 1987, Lucien Barrière participated in the arrival of slot machines in France. Diane Barrière-Desseigne *'1990-2000': the Barrière legend blossoms In the early 1990s, Accor became a major SHCLB shareholder. In 1990, Diane Barrière-Desseigne succeeded her father, Lucien Barrière, and launched major renovation projects. On top of their prestige, the hotels are closely connected to the film industry and the Arts. The elite figures of the film industry visit the Normandy Barrière and the Royal Barrière during the American Film Festival in Deauville. In 1995, Diane Barrière-Desseigne suffered a very serious plane accident and from 1997, her husband Dominique Desseigne co-managed the SHCD and SHCLB at her side. In 1998, SHCD bought Fouquet’s restaurant and brand. Diane Barrière-Desseigne died in 2001. Dominique Desseigne took over Group management and became Chairman of SFCMC. Dominique Desseigne *'Since 2001': Under the chairmanship of Dominique Desseigne, the SHCD and the SHCLB took on a new dimension with the first international developments. In 2003, SHCLB opened the Casino Barrière de Montreux in Switzerland, which became the leading casino in Switzerland in 2008 in terms of total gross gaming takings*Source: Commission Fédérale des Maisons de Jeux en Suisse (Swiss Casino Federal Gaming Commission). During the same year, SHCD took over the Ryads Resort Development, owner of the land on which the Hôtel Naoura Barrière in Marrakech (Morocco) was later built, supported by top ranking investors who purchased an equity stake in Ryads Resort Development. In 2004, the Desseigne-Barrière family, Accor and Colony Capital investment funds decided to team up as Société Hôtelière de la Chaîne Lucien Barrière, subsequently renamed Groupe Lucien Barrière, which combined the businesses of SHCD, SHCLB and Accor Casinos to create a prestigious casino and hotel group. Since 2005, the expansion has continued with the opening of casinos in Toulouse, Cairo, Leucate, Blotzheim and Lille, the opening of the Naoura Barrière in Marrakech (Morocco), Hôtel Fouquet’s Barrière in Paris and the Spark (fitness centre for treatments, sport and Spa) in Enghien-les-Bains. The Hôtel Barrière Lille will open during autumn 2010 and the hotel complex and balneo-therapy centre adjoining the Casino Barrière de Ribeauvillé is forecast to open late 2011. During the same period, the public service concessions of the Barrière Casinos in La Baule, Dinard, Deauville, Saint-Malo, Nice, Cassis and Saint Raphaël were renewed, which reveals the confidence these towns place in the Group. On 15 April 2009, Colony Capital sold its Groupe Lucien Barrière shares to Accor, which now holds a 49% equity stake in the company. In 2010, Groupe Lucien Barrière and Française des Jeux Group designed an on-line gaming platform with 3D online gaming, which is called LB Poker company. Groupe Lucien Barrière Establishments Hotels Dmitry Medvedev and US President Barack Obama at the Royal Barrière during the 37th G8 summit in May 2011.]] Groupe Lucien Barrière (GLB) operates 15 hotels (14 in France and 1 in Marrakech) and has a total of 1 726 rooms, plus 26 ryads in Marrakech. Located in first class sites, the Group’s buildings are a benchmark in the luxury hotel industry with a vast majority of 5-star hotels. Paris Hôtel Fouquet's Barrière***** Deauville Royal Barrière***** Normandy Barrière***** Hôtel du Golf Barrière**** Dinard Grand Hôtel Barrière***** Enghien-les-Bains Grand Hôtel Barrière**** Hôtel du Lac**** La Baule Castel Marie-Louise***** Royal Thalasso Barrière***** Hermitage Barrière***** Bordeaux Pullman Aquitania**** Niederbronn Mercure*** Marrakech Hôtel & Ryads Naoura Barrière***** Lille Hôtel Barrière (Openning Autumn 2010) Ribeauvillé Casino-Hôtel-Balnéothérapie de Ribeauvillé '' (Openning Autumn 2011)'' Casinos The 37 casinos are located in the most attractive resorts along the French coast and in major cities and are visited by a broad range of loyal customers and occasional players. Barrière Casinos also offer varied, delicate cuisine, a lively atmosphere and high quality shows mainly thanks to large-capacity halls with proper equipment. *France La Baule Bénodet Besançon Biarritz Blotzheim Bordeaux Briançon Carnac Carry-le-Rouet Cassis Chamonix Dax Deauville Dinard Enghien-les-Bains Jonzac LeucateLille Menton Nice Le Ruhl Nierderbronn Ouistreham Perros-Guirec Royan Ribeauvillé La Rochelle Les Sables d'Olonne Saint-Malo Sainte-Maxime Saint-Raphaël Toulouse Le Touquet Trouville *Switzerland Courrendlin Fribourg Montreux *Egypt Cairo Restaurants and Bars Groupe Lucien Barrière has developed a wide range of offers to cater for all tastes and requirements. With 131 bars and restaurants throughout the Group’s casinos and hotels, which range from snacks to 5-star cuisine, not forgetting the famous Fouquet’s brasseries in Paris, Toulouse and Marrakech. Sport and well being - Spark, soins, sport et spa - Enghien-les-Bains - Le U SPA Barrière de l’Hôtel Fouquet’s Barrière – Paris - Le U SPA Barrière du Naoura Barrière – Marrakech - Centre de thalassothérapie Thalgo - La Baule Golfs courses - Golf Barrière – Deauville - Golf Barrière de Saint-Julien – Deauville - Golf International Barrière - La Baule Tennis courses - Tennis club de l’Hôtel du Golf – Deauville - Tennis Country Club Barrière - La Baule References External links *Groupe Lucien Barrière site Category:Hotel chains Category:Companies of France fr:Groupe Lucien Barrière